Greek organizations are some of the most visible groups on campus.
Often the most visible aspects of these groups, however, is negative publicity — particularly about hazing in fraternities.
A current hazing investigation into Kappa Alpha Order has raised questions for many members of the campus community.
Allegations and
investigations
The Reveille reported on the Dean of Students’ Office investigation Kappa Alpha Order in November, 2003.
In the seven months since then, some members of the Greek community have questioned why the investigation has not been completed.
But Kevin Price, dean of students, said there is no specific time frame for investigations.
“It varies quite a bit depending on the information and cooperation you get,” Price said.
Just as fraternities are by nature secretive, so are many of the expressions of their concerns.
Concerns among the Greek community seem to manifest themselves as rumors. They then take on lives of their own.
If they are not actually true, their negative impacts seem to hold a force of truthful magnitude.
Many Greeks seem to be afraid to discuss rumors. If they eventually talk, they do not want to be known as the source of any such rumor.
Some members of Greek organizations mentioned loyalty and others even fear of physical harm as reasons behind their secrecy.
And that is the same manner in which Greeks spoke for this story — secretively, seeking anonymity.
These fears might seem unjustified to people outside the Greek community. But those outsiders do not face the same pressures of upholding reputations and facing the other members of a fraternity, one Greek said.
Price and Felts did not comment on specific details of allegations, but anonymous sources said allegations stem from a KA member hitting a pledge with a shovel.
An alleged victim, witnesses, the victim’s family and other people who are close to the victim declined to comment on the allegation.
Brad Resweber, the student who was the KA president at the time of the alleged hazing incident, declined to comment. He referred questions about hazing allegations to the current president, Marshall Hollis.
Hollis did not comment by press time Thursday.
Larry Wiese, executive director of the national Kappa Alpha Order office, said in a previous Reveille article that his office is working with the Dean of Students during the investigation.
“I think they are serious allegations that we need to deal with appropriately,” he said.
Like Price, Wiese said that he could not comment on details of the investigation.
Wiese could not be reached for further comment by press time Thursday.
Price said his office’s investigation should conclude in “a couple of weeks.” Penalties for any allegations that are “proven” will become public knowledge at that time.
Determining punishment
The University has four levels of penalties for student organizations in its 2003-2004 “Student Organization Handbook.”
Level one is a “Letter of University Reprimand,” which does not ask for any forfeiture of the organization’s privileges.
The second level is “University Probation.” This penalty does require a forfeiture of an organization’s privileges and can last from three months to three years.
Which privileges are forfeited depends directly on the charges. For instance, if the charges involved alcohol, the organizations often will not be allowed to have alcohol at parties, Price said
“Total Probation” — level three — prohibits an organization from holding any events on campus and from recruiting new members for one year. Greek organizations are “removed from campus,” which means the University does not recognize them as official campus student organizations.
Penalty level four is “Rescission of University Registration,” which means the organization is removed from campus for an indeterminate period of time. The University also may request a national organization to revoke the charter of the local chapter.
Price said the most severe penalty currently facing any Greek organizations is the second level, “University Probation.”
Three fraternities have been removed from campus since 2003, and many people assume they are on “Total Probation” with the University.
But Price clarified this misconception.
He said either local alumni or national organizations called for the removal of the University chapters of Delta Kappa Epsilon, Delta Chi and Sigma Nu after conducting their own investigations.
In each case that the Dean of Students Office brings an allegation, Price tells the organization what his office is charging it for along with the penalties it will face.
He also gives the organization a chance to dispute the charges.
If those charges are disputed, the organization goes before a panel hearing for a second investigation. If found guilty, the organization faces the initial punishment Price recommended.
But that has not happened in the nearly three years since Price has been Dean of Students.
“They all had the opportunity to go to a panel hearing, but none have chosen to up to this point,” Price said.
The Dean of Students office charged Delta Kappa Epsilon, Delta Chi, and Sigma Nu for various allegations, according to its “Disciplinary Action” records.
Delta Kappa Epsilon’s allegations included alcohol offenses, assault and hazing.
The allegation against Delta Chi included physically violent hazing.
Sigma Nu’s allegations included alcohol offenses, fighting, vandalism, forging an event registration form and hazing.
Price said he would have recommended that all three fraternities be removed from campus, but their alumni chose to remove them instead.
Numerous Greek organizations, including KA, currently are on “University probation.” KA’s probation for holding unregistered events, fighting and hazing began in August and will expire May 13.
The Dean of Students’ “Disciplinary Action” records state, “Provided there are no further violations and all terms of the probation are met, an organization’s probation will be lifted.”
Price did not say what penalties KA would face if the current allegations of hazing are proven.
Negative publicity
Rarely does a semester pass that campus and sometimes national media do not publicize the misdeeds of Greeks.
Those wrongdoings range from unregistered parties to serving alcohol to underaged drinkers to perhaps the most notorious charge — hazing.
But Price was quick to praise some aspects of Greek life.
In a pamphlet published in March, the Dean of Students office heralded the more than 35 social and honor sororities and fraternities’ leadership development and charitable activities.
During the 2002-03 academic year, members of University Greek organizations logged a total of 38,000 hours of community service and raised more than $120,000 for philanthropies.
GPAs for both men and women in Greek organizations are higher than the overall GPAs for the rest of the University, Price said.
But negative publicity often overshadows positive accomplishments.
Felts does not think the scrutiny is unfair, though, because of the University’s relationship with Greek organizations.
“There are no other student organizations that have houses on campus where they reside and have their meetings,” he said. “Fraternities and sororities say, ‘We hold ourselves to a higher standard,’ so they’re basically asking to be looked at differently.”
Marshall Harper, Interfraternity Council president, said he hears complaints about the “unfortunate characteristic of” negative publicity for Greeks.
“It’s something you hear about, but not something I necessarily see as a problem,” he said.